The Sinking of Lady Luck, Bay of Plenty in 2006

In the early morning of 23 June 2006, the wooden fishing vessel Lady Luck was making her way back toward Tauranga in heavy weather. Visibility was poor, and seas were running rough. At 6:27 am, the skipper misjudged the vessel’s position and drift, and Lady Luck struck Black (Matatapu) Rock, just south of Mōtītī Island.

The collision was severe. Seawater flooded the boat, and critical navigation electronics failed. The skipper quickly broadcast a distress call on VHF Channel 16, which was picked up by Maritime Radio, the Coastguard, Tauranga Harbour operations, and a nearby fishing vessel. Within minutes, the four crew members abandoned ship into the liferaft as she foundered in the swell. The pilot launch Tauranga II reached the site by around 7:20 am, retrieving the cold and wet crew by 7:45. The Coastguard vessel Rescue 1 recovered the liferaft.

All four men were taken to Tauranga Hospital, treated for mild hypothermia, and discharged soon after. Lady Luck was declared a total loss, broken apart by waves on the rocks she had struck. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission later found that the accident was caused by a combination of factors: misjudging the vessel’s leeway in bad weather, loss of key navigational equipment, and over-reliance on a single method of navigation.